Makito, a broke college kid, walked down the street after a night of partying and getting no girls. He was drunk as all hell and had already emptied his insides three blocks back. His face was a bright shade of pink, and his eyes were blurry. He kept stumbling and tripping over things a sober person physically couldn’t, and he eventually began talking to himself.

He was about three blocks from his crappy dorm when he heard a voice that sent shivers down his spine.

“Peek-a-boo.” The voice whispered; the wind carried the sound, sobering Makito up slightly as he twisted his head, listening to where the voice came from. After a few silent minutes, he brushed it off as too drunk to think clearly and continued walking. He reached the dormitory’s entrance and scanned his ID card, allowing him access to the creepy building. It wasn’t scary until Makito heard the voice again; this time, it was closer.

“Peek-a-boo.” The voice was eerie as hell, and Makito quickly slammed the door behind him; the sound echoed down the long, opaque hallway. His intoxicated mind began to saunter, and he was soon picturing seeing some ghostly figure standing at the end of the hallway, waiting for him to walk closer.

“Did someone spike my drink?” Makito thought out loud; he instantly shut up when the light at the very end of the hallway flickered. His blurry eyes caught a glimpse of a white figure with black hair.

“Oh fuck this.” Makito gasped, running back to the door, tripping over someone’s pencil, and fell with a crash. He yelped in pain as pain flared up from his left ankle, and his drunken state saw the world spin. The light at the end of the hallway was back to normal, and a few people opened their doors in confusion. A chubby kid with thick glasses bent down to help Makito stand.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“Yeah, I just fell.” Makito knew the kid had a reputation of calling the campus police on underage, intoxicated students, so he didn’t dare speak the truth.

“Are you sure? You seem a little off?” Makito knew what the student was trying to do and instantly shoved his hand away.

“Dude fuck off; I’m fine. Just tripped over this stupid pencil.” Makito growled, pushing past the kids’ bulk and limped down the hallway, walking under the very light he saw something underneath only minutes prior. He heard the fat kid close the door, and the few other college kids who opened their doors had long since secured theirs; seeing the bulky kid unnerved them since half was most likely drinking.

Makito reached his dorm ten minutes after vacating the fat kids’ company, and he swiped his card. Nothing happened. He swiped it again; the light didn’t shine the reassuring green, but a dark red. Makito began to sweat as he thought of being locked out of his dorm and trapped in the creepy hallway. His roommate wasn’t coming back until the end of the weekend, and he was too intoxicated to communicate to any of the campus police.

He finally concluded that it wasn’t going to open no matter how much he solicited and turned towards the ominous hallway, hoping that one of his friends would either help him out or let him crash at their dorm. As soon as he put his ID back into his wallet and retreated from his dorm, the voice sounded again.

“Peek-a-boo.” Makito froze, and the hair on the back of his neck slowly rose, his eyes grew large, and his mind cleared. He slowly pulled out his phone and opened up the camera; too scared to physically turn around, he flipped his camera and pointed it over his head. His eyes widened at what he saw.

A woman, dressed in a white dress, covered in dirt and torn to almost shreds. Her pale, veiny limbs hung like dead weeds. Her head was facing down, boney hands covering her face, and black hair matted with a dark substance Makito didn’t want to think about.

“Peek-a-boo.” The woman whispered, her voice cracking as she repeated her phrase. Makito screamed and turned around, running down the hallway and up a flight of stairs. His closest friend was located on the third floor near the end of the hallway. Makito considered randomly asking someone to help him but thought against it since he would seem crazy.

He reached his friend’s dorm without issue and started banging on the door. A random girl answered, and Makito let himself in, shoving her to the side and slamming the door shut.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Makito’s friend yelled, jumping off his loft bed and staring Makito down.

“Can I stay here for the night? My key card won’t work, and someone, no, something is chasing me! Man, I don’t know what the fuck’s going on!” Makito begged, grabbing his friend’s shoulders and shaking him slightly.

“Dude, how much did you drink? Are you on drugs?”

“What? No! my keycard wasn’t working, and someone was chasing me! please, dude, you’ve gotta help me.”

“I have company; you can’t expect me to ignore my guest to take care of your drunk ass.” Makito’s friend sternly explained, prying his hands from his shoulders and crossing his arms afterward.

“Haru, please! There is something out there. You’ve gotta help me.” Makito pleaded, getting onto his hands and knees and pressing his forehead into the dorm’s wooden floors.

Suddenly there was a loud bang from the other side of the door. Makito’s blood ran cold, and a cold sweat began to bead on his forehead. Haru looked at Makito and then at the girl, who had long since jumped back onto his bed, cuddled under the blanket. Her eyes, wide with confusion and dismay as the pounding on the door continued.

“Don’t. Open. It.” Makito growled at Haru, who had made his way towards the door, already having his hand on the knob. He opened the door, not listening to his distressed friends’ plees as he stepped outside.

The minutes Haru was looking out the door and down the hallway felt like eons for Makito as he watched his friend of five years foolishly disregard his agonizing begs and risk his life. As soon as he poked his head out, it was back inside. He closed the door and stepped away from it, body rigid and face still turned away.

“You ok, man?” Makito asked, slowly crawling off the floor and making his way over to his friend, who refused to respond. Haru moved his hands from his side and slowly covered his face in a child-like manner. His head then gradually began to turn, and turn, and turn. His neck twisted and contorted as bones cracked and muscles tensed. His neck twisted 180 degrees, and he was soon looking right at Makito. The girl on the bed had long since run away by then, slinking behind Haru and fleeing from the dorm, screaming. Makito was frozen in fear as his friend slowly removed his hands from his face, revealing eyes that were nothing but empty sockets and a smile that was too wide and sickly. His lips were pulled back so far that they began to tear along the edges.

Makito wanted to run, to hide, to fight back. But he was frozen to the spot, and no amount of drunk confidence could save him. His friend’s eye sockets began to bleed dark, thick fluid as he continued to stare deep into Makito’s soul. His smile relaxed for a split second and what came from the gaping cavity shook Makito to the bone.

“Peek-a-boo.”